Paris is the most visited city in the world and it is easy to see why. First of all there are the obvious one and only sights such as the Arc d'Triomphe (which Napoleon ordered built to march his victorious army through but it wasn't finished until way after his death), the Eiffel Tower (the tallest structure in the world for about fifty years), Napoleon's tomb (guess who's in there), the Grand Palais (the most incredible glass roof), the Place de la Concorde (the largest square in Paris was once the site of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and countless others' execution by guillotine), Pont Neuf (almost five hundred year old bridge built by Henry IV with 384 unique faces on it), the Versailles Palace (the largest and most over the top palace in the world with 2,300 rooms... and then there's the gardens with 620 jets of water in 50 fountains) and on and on. We tried to see as many of these sights as possible but the list just goes on and on. By the way the Versailles Palace has the quaintest perfect little rural hamlet beyond the gardens that was built for Marie Antoinette so she along with her friends could dress up and play 'peasant'! Who could come up with that? One thing that kept hitting us was that France was the strongest and richest country in the world for many centuries so it attracted the best architects and artists who made the city their canvas. We stayed with Jenn and Eric, friends living in Paris for the year, who shared their knowledge and their love for the city with us. It didn't take long for us to be won over because there is a fascinating story behind every street, neighbourhood, garden, fountain, or building.
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